F 417 


.C5 C68 


Copy 1 



TITLE PAPERS 



THE GLAMORGAN GRANT, 



OF 



536,904 ARPENS OF ALLUVIAL LANDS 



IN 



MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS 



NEW-YORK : 

PRINTED BV T. SNOWDEN, 58 WALL STREET. 

1837. 



GLAMORGAN GRANT. 



In offering a portion of this valuable tract of land for sale, 
the proprietors do not deem it necessary to enumerate its 
advantages of situation, soil, and climate, as the papers sub- 
mitted herewith exhibit ev^ery thing necessary to be known in 
relation thereto. It may be proper to observe, that Don J. 
Glamorgan had two grants from the Government of Spain : 
this is the southern one, and the United States have thus far 
respected it, no surveys having been made within its limits. 
Papers 1, 2, 3, 4, exhibit the Title. 

Do 5, Deed of Trust, showing that the land is held in 
trust for the benefit of the proprietors. 

Recent judicial decisions establish the validity of this grant. 
See the following opinions of the 

Honorable DANIEL WEBSTER, of MassacJmsetfs. 
THOMAS EWING, of Ohio. 
SAMUEL L. SOVTUARD, of Nciv Jersei/. 
A. P. UPSHUR, of Virginia. 
JOSEPH M. WHITE, o/i^/om/a, and 
JOHN DUER, Esq., of New York. 
As to the value of the lands, see statements from the 
Honorable L. F. LINN, Senator, Missouri. 

A. Y. HARRISON, M. C. Missouri. 
JOSEPH KENT, Senator, Maryland. 
Major A. WHITMOR, Author of Gazette and Map of 
Missouri. 

EDWARD CRASS, Esq. Surveyor General of Arkansas. 
JOSEPH JONES, Esq. of Louisiana. 
It is proper to remark, that neither of these gentlemen 
have any interest whatever in this land. 

The Trustees are to act under the direction of William A. 
Bradley, and his associates for this object, to wit: Daniel 
Webster, and Stephen White of Boston, S. L. Southard of 
New Jersey, and Roswell L. Golt, of New York. 



THE 



GLAMORGAN GRANT OF ALLUVIAL LANDS, 



MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS. 



August 9, 1796. 
Charles Dehault Delassus, Lieutenant Governor of New Madrid 
and its dependencies, made a grant of land, now lying partly within 
the boundaries of Missouri, and partly in Arkansas, on the bank of 
the Mississippi, and running to the St, Francis, of which the follow- 
ing is a translation : 

No. 1. 

To Don Charles Dehault Delassus, Lieutenant Colonel of the 
stationary regiment of Louisiana, and Lieutenant Governor of 
Neic Madrid and dependencies, S^c. 

James Clamorgan, merchant, residing in the town of St. Louis, 
has the honor to represent that he has been strongly encouraged by 
his excellency the Governor General of this province to establish a 
rope manufactory, for the use of his Majesty's navy, and especially 
to supply the Havana, to which place his excellency wishes the peti- 
tioner should send the cordage, under his protection, conformably to 
the notice he has given you on that subject, in order that, in all 
cases, the petitioner should have recourse to your goodness, so as to 
be favored by all your power in an undertaking which may become 
very important to the prosperity of this dependency, and very pro- 
fitable hereafter to all the inhabitants of Upper Louisiana ; so much 
the more, as the petitioner being connected in correspondence and 
matters of interest with a powerful house in Canada, they may pro- 
cure hereafter a sufficient number of farmers to come to this coun- 
try and teach the cuhivation of hemp, and its fabrication into various 
kinds of cordage in the most perfect manner, thereby fulfilling the 
views of the General Government, which desires this undertaking 



to succeed by all just and honest means which it will be possible to 
use, in order to exempt his Majesty from drawing in future from for- 
eign countries an article so important in the fitting out of his navy. 
In hopes of obtaining this end, the petitioner has made the most press- 
ing demands to obtain from his correspondents in Montreal a consi- 
derable number of people fit for this cultivation, whom we are com- 
pelled by necessity to attract to this country, although, at present, 
political circumstances in Canada appear opposed to it; but in more 
peaceful times this object may indubitably be obtained. 

Meanwhile,' the petitioner is obliged to secure beforehand a title 
from you, sir, which will guaranty to him the property of a quantity 
of land proportionate to his views, in order to make an extensive 
establishment as soon as circumstances will appear favorable to his 
undertaking, and when his correspondents will be able, without con- 
flicting with their sense of duty, to cause to emigrate to this country 
the number of people necessary to give a start to this culture, so much 
desired by the Government. 

Considering the above statement, sir, and in consequence of the 
particular recommendations of his excellency the Governor General 
of the province, the petitioner hopes that you will condescend to 
grant him the quantity of land he wishes to obtain, as well to favor 
him in the execution of all that may contribute in future to the pros- 
perity of his project, as to facilitate to him the means to attract 
hereafter, from a foreign country, an emigration of cultivators, whe 
may not be obtained, perhaps, but after a considerable lapse of time, 
and by promises of rewards which the petitioner shall be obliged to 
fulfil. Therefore, he supplicates you to grant him, in the name of 
his Majesty, the tract of land which lies on the western side of the 
river Mississippi, beginning at the place which is opposite the head 
of an island situated at about one hundred arpens below the Little 
Prairie, which lies at the distance of about thirty miles below the 
village of New Madrid, in descending the current, and continuing to 
descend it until one is placed (on the same western side) right oppo- 
site the outlet commonly known under the name of river a Carhono^ 
the mouth of which is on the eastern side of the Mississippi ; so that 
from the said place, situated, as aforesaid, opposite the mouth of the 
above-mentioned river Carhono, a line be drawn, running toward 
the southwest, or thereabout ; said line shall be drawn parallel to the 
one which is to be drawn from the place situated opposite the head of 
the island lying, as hereabove stated, at about one hundred arpens 
below the said Little Prairie ; these two said lines shall run, in the 
depth, in a southwestern direction, or thereabout, and shall be the 
boundaries of each of those two opposite sides, until the extremities 
of the said two lines be sufliciently prolonged in the said direction, 



so as to reach tho banks of the branches of the river St. Francis the 
most distant from tlie Mississippi ; which banks of said branches of 
river St. Francis shall be the boundary and limit to the third side of 
the land demanded, and the banks of the Mississippi shall be the 
fourth (side of the same,) to begin from the head of the aforesaid 
island of the Little Prairie, and descending the current, on the 
western side, until the place situated opposite the said river, called 
river d Carhono ; in order that, as soon as it is in the petitioner's 
power, he may select and improve, within the said tract now solicited 
for, the land which is most suitable for the cultivation of hemp. A 
great part of this tract being overflowed by ponds and impracticable 
low swamps, it will prevent the improving of the whole, in all its 
extent; and the petitioner is to enjoy the whole and dispose of the 
same for ever, as of a property belonging to him, his heirs or assigns; 
and even to distribute the said lands, or part of them, if he thinks 
proper, in favor of such person or persons whom he may judge fit, 
in order to attain, as much as in his power lies, the accomplishment 
of his project. 

And the petitioner shall never cease to render thanks to your 
goodness. 

Done at New Madrid, this 1st day of August, 1796. 

(Signed) J. GLAMORGAN. 

New Madrid, August 9, 1796. 
Having examined the statement contained in this petition, being 
satisfied as to the means of the petitioner, and his new partnership 
with the house of T^odd, which may facilitate to him the accomplish- 
ment of his intended^undertaking; the profits of which, if it succeed, 
will devolve in part to the benefit of this remote country, so misera- 
ble on account of the actual want of population ; due attention being 
paid to the particular recommendations made to me by the Baron de 
Carondelet, Governor General of these provinces; (attando ha 
tenido a bien nombrar de Comandante de este puesto y sus depen- 
dencias "de buscar . . . . ) [supposed meaning;] considering that 
he thought fit to recommend to the Commandant of this post and 
dependencies to seek, by all means, the mode of increasing the popu- 
lation, and of encouraging agriculture in all its branches, and espe- 
cially that of hemp. It appearing to me that what tho petitioner 
proposes will contribute to the attainment of this last recommenda- 
tion, I do grant to him and his heirs the land he solicits, in the place 
where and under the same terms he asks the same, provided that it 
is not prejudicial to any person. And when he establishes the said 
land, he shall have it surveyed, not compelling him to have it done 
immediately, as its extent is so considerable that it would occasion a 



ruinous expense to Iiim, if he was to execute said survey before the 
arrival of the families which he must send for to Canada; but as 
soon as they arrive, and he settles them on said land, he shall have 
to secure his property, by having the same surveyed, in order, after- 
wards, to have recourse to the Governor General, to obtain the ap- 
probation and the title, in form, for this his concession. 

(Signed) CAULOS DEHAULT DELASSUS. 

Recouder's Office, St. Louis, 

September 21, 1836. 
I certify the above and foregoing to be truly translated from the 
original filed in this office. 

JULIUS DE MUN. 

February, 1806. 
Glamorgan caused the grant to be surveyed, and the survey to be 
recorded. By this survey, the tract was found to contain 536,904 
arpens 29 perches. 

No. 2. 

[See annexed plat of survey.] 



<:oo joo 



lOoArpens 



'0 ^^(iv^Tpens 

™" ' ' " ' ""'"^ oriOOOTerchts 







4J8J)63 .teres 



ISJota ThiA Surrey is hiseeted hyihe lint: hehveen ^is^'-iouri & Arkansas . 

ilu CIoLNwrqan G-rarit takes m Poi/ite aiisc AUses. 



l.uh i.- ji',V'-^. " W'lir St. . v>: 




Territory of Louisiana, district of New Madrid: 

I do certify that the ahove plat represents a tract of land contain- 
ing four hundred and fifty-eight thousand nine hundred and sixty- 
three acres, or five hundred and thirty-six thousand nine hundred and 
four arpens twenty-nine perches, lying on the forks of the St. 

Francis river, miles below the Little Prairie, surveyed by 

me from the 30th of January last to the 12th of the present month, 
for, and at the request of, James Glamorgan, who claims the same 
under a Spanish title : beginning at two large sycamores, marked C, 
on the bank of the Mississippi, running up the same, and following 
the meanders thereof, to a large cotton wood and two sycamores, 
marked C, on the bank, at one hundred and ninety-five poles west, 
and five thousand eight hundred and forty-seven poles north from the 
beginning, and crossing the river Pcmiscoe,. near the mouth thereof; 
then from the cotton wood and two sycamores aforesaid, opposite the 
middle of the Island au Potin, running S. 45^^ W. 2504 poles, to a 
sycamore and pecan wood, on the bank of Pcmiscoe, after crossing 
the same at 1056 and at 303G poles ; thence N. 45° W. 1734 poles, 
to two elms, marked C, after crossing Peraiscoe at 670 and 1020 
poles; thence S. 45^^ W. 6023 poles, to the middle fork of St. 
Ff ancis, running east of south, crossing the same ; and from thence, 
keeping the same course, 3710 poles to a sycamore and hackberry 
on the south bank of the last fork of St. Francis river, running south- 
cast; thence S. lO'' W. 6572 poles down the said fork, crossing the 
same several times, to a sycamore and willow,^ marked C, on the bank 
of the river; and from thence to the beginning. 

(Signed) R. A. NASH, Deputy Surveyor. 

St. Louis, Fch. 28, 1806. 
Received for record. 

(Signed) ANTOINE SOULARD, 

Sur. Gen. for the Territory of Louisiana. 

Recorder's Office, 

St. Louis, Missouri, Sept. 22, 1836. 
I certify the above plat and certificate of survey to bo truly copied 
from book C. pages 183 and 184, of record in this office. 

F. R. CONWAY, 
Recorder of land titles in the State of Missouri. 



May 2, 1809. 
Claraorgan conveyed the tract to Pierre Chouteau. 

No. 3. 

Sachent tous ceux qui ces presentes verront que moi Jacques Gla- 
morgan demeuranten la ville et district de St. Louis, Territoire de 
la Louisianne, pour prix et consideration de la somrae de quinze 
cents piastres qui ni'a 6t6 bien et duement payee par M. Pierre 
Chouteau du dit lieu ainsi que je le reconnais par ces presentes et 
de laquelle somme je le tiens, quitte et decharge lui ses heirs ou 
ayant causes j'ai cejourd hui vendu, ced6, quitte, delaisse, aban- 
donn6 et transporte comme de fait, et par ces presentes je vends, 
cede, quitte, delaisse, abandonne et transporte au dit Sieur Pierre 
Chouteau, ses heirs ou ayant causes un certain morceau de terre, 
contenant cinq cent trente-six mille neuf cent quatre arpens vingt 
neuf perches en superficie, situe sur le fleuve Mississippi, district de 
la Nouvelle Madrid, front au dit Mississippi au has de I'endroit ap- 
pelle la Petite Prairie, et par derri^re a la fourche ouest de la ri- 
viere St. Frangois, et des deux cotes ou domaine la quelle terre 
m'appartient comme m'ayant ete concedee par Don Charles Dehault 
Delassus, lieutenant governeur de la Nouvelle Madrid et dependan- 
ces, le neuf, Aout, mil sept cent quatre vingt seize, et arpentee du 
30 Janvier du 12 Fevrier, 1806, ainsi qu'il est amplement constat^ 
par I'enregistrement des dites pieces en I'office du Recorder, pour 
les reclamations de terres de ce territoire, Livre C, page 181, et 
suivantes. Promettant garantir, et preserver la dite terre de tout 
troubles, dons, dettes, douaires hypoteques et autres emp^chements 
g^n^ralement tant de ma part que de celle de mes heirs, executors, 
ou adrainistrateurs, pour que le dit Sr. Pierre Chouteau, ses heirs ou 
ayant causes, en jouir, faire, et disposer, au son gre et volonte, et 
comme de chose a lui appartenante et par lui legitiment acquise a 
commencerla jouissance dfes ce jourd'hui. En foi dequoij'ay sign6 
et scelle ces presentes, en la ville, district, et territoire ci-dessus ce 
deuxieme may de I'annee de notre seigneur mil huit cent neuf. 

J. CLAMORGAN. [l. s.] 

Signe et scelle en presende de 
ALEXANDER PAPIN. 
M. P. LEDUC. 

Louisiana Territory, ) . 
district of St. Louis, } 

Before me, the subscriber, one of the Judges of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas for the district of St. Louis, personally came the above- 
named James Glamorgan, wlio acknowledged the within instrument 



of writing to be his free and voluntary act and deed, hand and seal, 
for the purposes therein mentioned ; and, as such, desired the same 
to be recorded. Given under my hand and seal, the day of the date 
of said act and deed. 

AUGUSTE CHOUTEAU, [l. s.] 

Territory of Missouri, ) , 
couniy of New Madrid, ) 

On the 27th day of December, in the year 1814, received for, and 
the same recorded, the witbim instrument of writing, together with 
its endorsement, in record-Jiook No. 5, and pages 273 and 274, as 
attested by RICHARD H. WATERS, 

Clerk C. C. P. N. M, county. 

Truly copied from the original presented to me by Pierre Chouteau, 
-and by him retained; of which I cert^fy. 

M. P. LEDUC. 
St. Louis, Decemher 2, 1836. 

No. 4. 

This deed, made this first day of June, in the year of our Lord, 
one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, between Pierre Chou- 
teau and Maria P. Leduc, of the county of St. Louis, and state of 
Missouri, and John Glenn and Charles M. Thruston, of the state of 
Maryland, Trustees for the purposes mentioned in declaration of 
trust, executed on the 21st day of February, 1837, witnesseth that 
tlie said Pierre Chouteau and Marie P. Leduc, for, and in conside- 
ration of the sum of fifty-three thousand six hundred and ninety- 
nine dollars ($53,699) in hand, paid at and before the sealing and 
delivery of these presents, have granted, bargained, and conveyed, 
and by these presents do grant, bargain, and convey unto the said 
John Glenn and Charles M. Thruston, their successors and assigns, 
forever, all that certain tract, piece, or parcel of land, lying and be- 
ing situated in the county of Madrid, State of Missouri, and extend- 
ing into the State of Arkansas, and bounded as follows, to wit : be- 
ginning on the western side of the River Mississippi, at the place 
which is opposite to the head of an island, situated at about one 
hundred arpens below the Little Prairie, which lies at the distance 
of about thirty miles below the village of New Madrid, in descend- 
ing the current and continuing to descend it until one is placed (on 
the same western side,) right opposite the outlet commonly known 
under the name of River 4 Carbono, the mouth of which is on the 
eastern side of the Mississippi, so that from the said place situated 

2 



10 

as aforesaid, opposite the mouth of the above-mentioned River Car- 
bono, a line be drawn, running'toward the southwest or thereabout; 
said line shall be parallel to the one which is to be drawn from the 
place situated opposite the head of the island lying as hereabove 
stated, at about one hundred arpens below the said Little Prairie, 
these two said lines shall run, in the depth, in a southwestern direc- 
tion, or thereabout, and shall be the boundaries of each of those two 
opposite sides, until the extremities of those two said lines be suffi 
ciently prolonged in the said direction, so as to reach the banks of 
the branches of the River St. Francis, the most distant from the 
Mississippi ; which banks of said branches of River St. Francis, 
shall be the boundary and limits to the third side of the land de- 
manded; and the banks of the Mississippi shall be the fourth, to 
begin from the head of the aforesaid Island of the Little Prairie, 
and descending the current on the western side, until the place situ- 
ated opposite the said river, called River 4 Carbono, and which tract 
contains about five hundred and thirty-six thousand nine hundred 
and eighty-nine arpens, French measure, be the same more or less, 
as appears by a survey thereof made by the proper officers in the 
month of January, 1806, and certified as received for record by the 
Surveyor General of the District of Louisiana, on the 28th day of 
February, 1806, and was granted by the Spanish Government in 
upper Louisiana, represented by Don Carlos Dehault Delassus, the 
then commandant of New Madrid and its dependencies, to Jacques 
Glamorgan and his representatives; and said concession, survey, and 
tract of land have been duly conveyed for valuable consideration to 
the said Pierre Chouteau and Marie P. Leduc. To have and to hold 
the said granted bargained and sold premises, together with all and 
singular, the privileges thereunto appertaining, unto them the said 
John Glenn and Charles M. Thruston, their successors and assigns, 
for the purposes in the said declaration of trust mentioned, free from 
the claim or claims of the said Pierre Chouteau and Marie P. Leduc, 
or any person or persons claiming by, through, or under them. The 
words " conveyed" and " convey" written or erasures before 
signing. 

In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto set 
their hands and seals, on the day, mouth and year first above written. 

PIERRE CHOUTEAU, [l. s.] 
(Witness M. P. LEDUC, [l. s.] 

GEORGE F. STROTHER. 

State of Missouri, > 
county of St. Louis, ) 

Be it remembered, that on this first day of June, in the year of our 



11 

Lord one tliousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, before me, Henry 
Chouteau, Clerk of the County Court for the county aforesaid, which 
said court is a Court of Record, personally appeared Pierre Chou- 
teau and Marie P. Leduc, both of whom are personally known to 
me to be the persons whoso names are subscribed to the foregoing 
instruments of writing, as parties thereto, and acknowledged the 
same to be their act and deed severally, for the purposes therein 
mentioned. 

In testimon)' whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed 
the seal of said court at office in the City of St. Louis, county and 
state aforesaid, the day and year above written. 

HENRY CHOUTEAU, Clerk, [l. s.] 

United States of America, ^ 
State, City and County of > ss. 
New York. ) 

Be it known that I, John H. Magher, a Public Notary for the State 
of New York, duly commissioned and sworn, dwelling in the City 
of New York, do hereby certify, that the within written document, 
purporting to be a copy of an original deed and certificate of ac- 
knowledgement thereof, is a true copy of the original thereof in the 
hands of William A. Bradley, Esq., by me this day collated and 
compared, and found to agree therewith. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, and 
affixed my Notarial seal of office, the day and year above written. 

JOHN MAGHER, [l. s.] 

Notary Public. 

February, 21, 1837. 
Deed of declaration of trusts, by John Glenn and Charles M. 
Thruston. 

No. 5. 

Whereas Charles Dehault Delassus, Lieutenant Governor of New 
Madrid and its dependencies, (including what is now part of Mis- 
souri and part of Arkansas,) on the ninth day of August, Anno Do- 
mini 1796, made a grant or concession of a tract of land lying on 
the Mississippi, and running back to the river St. Francis, and the 
furthest or most westerly branch thereof, according to boundaries 
and description in the said grant contained and expressed, unto 
James Glamorgan, of the city St. Louis ; and whereas afterwards, 
to wit : in February 1806, the said Glamorgan caused the said tract 
to be surveyed ; and, on said survey, it was found to contain the 
quantity of five hundred and thirty-six thousand nine hundred and 



12 

four arpena and twenty-four perches, which survey was thereupon 
duly recorded. And whereas afterwards, to wit : on the second day 
of May, Anno Domini 1809, the said Glamorgan sold and conveyed 
said tract to Pierre Chouteau, his heirs and assigns ; and whereas af- 
terwards, to wit: on the sixth day of October, Anno Domini 1820, 
the said Pierre Chouteau sold and conveyed one hundred thousand 
arpens of said tract undivided, or an undivided fifth thereof, to 
George F. Strother, Esq., of the city of St. Louis ; and whereas, 
on the eighth day of November, Anno Domini 1836, the said Chou- 
teau, by his power of attorney, authorized and empowered said 
George F. Strother ta sell and dispose of the whole of the residue 
of said tract still belanging to said Chouteau ; and whereas, by vir- 
tue of said power, and as attorney to said Chouteau, the said Strother, 
on the fourteenth day of February,. Anno Domini 1837, entered into 
an agreement with John Glenn and Charles M. Thruston, of the 
State of Maryland, for the sale of the residue of said tract; and 
whereas the said Strother, on the same day, sold and conveyed 
twenty thousand arpens, part of his aforesaid one hundred thousand 
arpens, to the said Glenn and Thruston ; and whereas said Strother, 
on the same day, farther agreed with said Glenn and Thruston, that, 
should a company be formed for the disposing of said grant, he 
would convey his remaining eighty thousand arpens, to form part of 
the company property ; he to have an interest in the whole, propor- 
tionate to the number of arpens so by him conveyed; To all which 
grants, surveys, powers of attorney, sales, conveyances, agreements, 
and other instruments, reference is hereby made for more particular 
information. 

Now, know all men by these presents, that the said Glenn and 
Thruston do hereby acknowledge and declare, that they have re- 
ceived said conveyances and entered into the contracts and agree- 
ments aforesaid as trustees : that they hold the land granted, and also 
the contracts and agreements aforesaid, in trust for William A. Brad- 
ley, Esq., of Washington, and his associates, the original purchasers 
of said Strother, and contractors with him in his own behalf, and in 
behalf of said Chouteau ; and the trusts created and intended to be 
created thereby, are declared to be as follows : 

1^ That the said trustees shall comply with the agreement entered 
into with said Strother, as attorney for said Chouteau, and obtain from 
said Chouteau a regular conveyance of his remaining intierest in the 
grant ; and in like manner take a conveyance of the remaining inter- 
est of the said Strother in said grant. The lands thus conveyed to 
be holden subject to the particular trusts hereinafter declared^ that 
is to say — 

2. The said trustees to hold said title, to protect said tract flom 



trespass and mtnision ; to cause the same to be surveyed into divi- 
sions and parcels suitable for sale, and to sell and dispose of the same 
for the benefit of those interested. The said Slrother to be inter- 
ested in the whole, in proportion to his eighty thousand arpens ; and 
the whole of the remaining interest tobelong to said William A. Brad- 
ley and his associates.. 

3. For the more convenient ownership of the property, it shall be 
regarded as a joint stock, in trust ; and the equitable and beneficial 
interest shall be divided into five hundred and thirty-six (536) shares, 
each share representing one thousand arpens and a fraction. For 
these shares certificates shall be issued, signed by the trustees, which 
shall be assignable, and shall be in such form as the trustees shall 
see fit. Bu4: certificates shall not be issued until the purchase money 
becoming due to said Chouteau, according to the contract made with 
him through his attorney, the said Strother, shall be paid or amply 
secured ; so that the right and interest expressed io each certificate 
shall be free and clear from any charge or deduction on account of 
the purchase money for the tract. 

4. As further and more particular provisions may become neces- 
sary, if the proprietors should sell the land for settlement ; and as it 
may also be judged expedient to sell and dispose of said tract, or 
some large part thereof, to other proprietors, before proceeding to 
survey and sell the same in lots or parcels, it shall, in such case, be 
the duty of the said trustees, on request, to make such further decla- 
ration of the terms on which they are to hold the said tract, or to 
execute such conveyance thereof, or any part thereof, to other pro- 
prietors, as the said William A. Bradley and his associates may rea- 
sonably require. 

Provided, That nothing in the foregoing third article contained 
shall prohibit the said trustees from issuing and selling such quanti- 
ties of said certificates as may be necessary to raise the sum required 
to fulfil the contract with the said Chouteau. 

Ill witness of all which we have hereunto set our hands and seals, 
this twenty-first day of February, Anno Domini, 1837, 

JOHN GLENN, [l. s.] 
CHS. M. THRUSTON, [l. s.] 



CLAMORGAN'S TITLE 

TO 

LAND ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 



MR. WEBSTER'S OPINION. 

CASE. 

On the first day of August, 1796, James Claraorgan, a merchant 
residing at St. Louis, addressed a petition to Charles Dehault De- 
lassus, at that time the Spanish Lieutenant Governor of New Mad- 
rid and its dependencies, (including what is now part of Missouri and 
part of Arkansas,) praying for a concession or grant of land. The 
petition sets forth, that the petitioner had been encouraged by the 
Governor General of Louisiana, at that time the Baron de Caronde- 
let, to undertake to establish a rope manufactory for the use of his 
Majesty's navy, and to bring farmers from Canada to teach the cul- 
tivation of hemp ; that the petitioner was obliged, beforehand, to 
secure a title, which would guaranty to him the property of a quan- 
tity of land, proportionate to his views, in order to make an extensive 
establishment, so soon as circumstances should favor the undertaking; 
the political state of things existing at that time, being such as to op- 
pose the obtaining of farmers from Canada, but the petitioner hoping 
to be able to obtain them in times more peaceable : 

He therefore solicits the grant of the following described tract of 
land, viz : " the tract of land which lies on the western side of the 
river Mississippi, beginning at the place which is opposite the head 
of an island situated at about one hundred arpens below the Little 
Prairie, which lies at the distance of about thirty miles below the vil- 
lage of New Madrid, in descending the current, and continuing to 
descend it until one is placed (on the same western side) right oppo- 
posite the outlet commonly known under the name of river a Carbono, 
the mouth of which is on the eastern side of the Mississippi ; so that, 
from the said place, situated as aforesaid, opposite the mouth of the 
above mentioned river Carhono, a line be drawn running toward the 
southwest or thereabout, said line shall be drawn parallel to the one 
which is to be drawn from the place situated opposite the head of the 
island lying, as hereabove stated, at about one hundred arpens below 
the said Little Prairie; these two said lines shall run in the depth, in 
a southwestern direction or thereabout, and shall be the boundaries of 
each of those two opposite sides, until the extremities of the said two 



15 

lines be sufficiently prolonged in the said direction, so as to reach the 
banks of the branches of the river St. Francis the most distant from 
the Mississippi ; which banks (of said branches) of river St. Francis 
shall be the boundary and limit to the third side of the land demand- 
ed ; and the banks of the Mississippi shall be the fourth, (side of the 
same,) to begin from the head of the aforesaid island of the Little 
Prairie, and descending the current, on the western side, until the 
place situated opposite the said river, called river a Carbono,''^ to the 
end that he may select and improve, within said tract, the land most 
suitable for the cultivation of hemp ; the whole not being capable of 
improvement, a large part being overflowed by ponds and impracti- 
cable low swamps; but the petitioner to enjoy the whole tract, and 
dispose of the same for ever, as property belonging to him, his heirs 
and assigns, with power to convey the said land, or any part thereof, 
to whomsoever he may see fit. 

On the 9th day of the same August, the Lieutenant Governor, De- 
lassus, issued his grant, or concession, to the petitioner, reciting that 
the petitioner's statement had been examined, that he was satisfied as 
to his means and ability for carrying on the undertaking, and that 
the province would derive benefit therefrom ; and, paying due atten- 
tion to the recommendation of the Baron de Carondelet, the Govern- 
or General of the province, he proceeds to declare that he grants 
the tract asked for to the petitioner, and his heirs, in the place and 
under the terras asked for, provided the grant be not prejudicial to 
any other person ; the grantee to have the land surveyed, but not be- 
ing compelled to survey it immediately, the extent being so consider- 
able that the survey would incur a great expense ; but when the ex- 
pected farmers from Canada should arrive, the land to be surveyed, 
in order that the grantee might obtain from the Governor General 
regular confirmation of his title. 

The continuance of hostilities between Spain and England pre- 
vented Glamorgan from obtaining his farmers from Canada, and 
commencing the cultivation of hemp, until the whole province of 
Louisiana was transferred, first by Spain to France, and afterwards 
by France to the United States ; so that it was impracticable for him 
to comply with the condition oi to fulfil the public objects of the 
grant. No subsequent confirmation of the title was ever obtained 
from the Governor General, and no attempt ever made by him, or 
any other Spanish authority to reannex the land to the royal domain, 
either for want of compliance with the conditions, or any other 
cause. 

Glamorgan caused the land to be surveyed, in February, 1806, and 
the grant and survey to be recorded, according to the provisions of 
the act of Congress of March 3d, 1805. 



16 

Claraorgan, on the 12th day of May, in the year 1809, conveyed 
the tract, by regular deed, duly executed and recorded, to Pierre 
Chouteau. 

A petition was filed in this claim, in the District Court of Missouri, 
against the United States, under the provisions of the act of Congress 
of the 26lh May, 1824, but was abandoned, in consequence of the 
decision of that court, rejecting the claims of Soulard, and several 
other claimants, on the general ground that the Lieutenant Govern- 
ors, under the Spanish authority, were not authorised to make grants 
of land. This decision was of course conclusive, so far as that court 
was concerned, on the claim founded on Clamorgan's grant. All 
further prosecution of the claim therefore, in that court, was aban- 
doned; and the same course was adopted in regard to very many 
other claims, founded,, in like manner, on grants made by the Lieu- 
tenant Governors. 

The decision of the District Court, however, was brought up to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and there reversed ; the Su- 
preme Court being of opinion that the Lieutenant Governors were 
authorised, by the laws, customs, and usages of >Spain, to make grants 
of land. 

The first decision of the Supreme Court, en any of these claims, 
reversing the judgment of the District Court, on the ground above 
mentioned^, was pronounced January term, 1835. 

By this time the period limited for bringing suits by petition against 
the United States, in the District Court of Missouri, had long since 
expired ; having been limited by the act of May 24, 1828, to the 
26th of May, 1830. 

On the 9th of July, 1832, Congress passed an act for the final ad- 
justment of private land claims in Missouri^ appointing a board of 
commissioners, and making it their duty to examine all unconfirmed 
claims, filed in the recorder's office according to law, founded upon 
any incomplete grant, concession, award, or order of survey, issued 
by the authority of France or Spain, prior to March 10, 1804. 

This act originally limited the time for presenting claims, to twelve 
months ; it was extended by the act of 2d March, 1833, to two years 
from the date of the said act, and has not been longer continued in 
force. 

On the claims presented to it, the board was to decide, and report 
its decisions to Congress. Before this board were presented many 
or all the cases which had been abandoned in the District Court, in 
consequence of the decision of that court in the cases of Soular, De- 
lassus, and others; and among the rest, this grant to Glamorgan was 
presented. 



17 

Several of these claims were allowed by the commissioners, and 
have since been confirmed by act of Congress; but the present claim 
was disallowed by the board, on the 26th of August, 1835, " the 
board being unanimously of opinion that it ought not to be confirmed, 
the conditions not having been complied with." 

OPINION. 

I entertain no doubt of the legal validity of this grant. Cases have 
beenrecently decided by the Supreme Court upon rights asserted un- 
der the treaty with Spain of the 22d of February, 1819, for the ces- 
sion of Florida, and that with France of the 10th of April, 1803, for 
the cession of Louisiana, which appear to me to settle, conclusively, 
all the material points connected with it. 

By the first mentioned treaty, Spain ceded to the United States 
the Territories of East and West Florida, the adjacent islands de- 
pendent thereon, and all public lots, squares, vacant lands, public edi- 
fices, fortifications, barracks, and other buildings, which are not pri- 
vate property ; and, in the 8th article, it is stipulated that all grants 
made before the 24th of January, 1818, by the King, or his lawful 
authorities, shall be ratified and confirmed to the persons hi posses- 
sion of the lands. 

The treaty with France, for the cession of Louisiana, declares, in 
the 2d article that the cession shall include all public lots and squares, 
vacant lands, and all public buildings, fortifications, barracks, and 
other edifices, lohich are not private property ; and, in the 3d article, 
that the inhabitants of the ceded Territory shall be incorporated into 
the Union as soon as possible, and admitted to all the rights of citi- 
zens of the United States ; and, in the mean time, shall be maintain- 
ed in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property^ and the religion 
which they profess. 

These several stipulations have been the subject of laborious and 
careful judicial consideration. Rights, claimed under them, have 
been brought before the Supreme Court, and fully established by its 
judgment. 

That Court has decided that, by these treaties, the United States 
acquired no right to lands to which individuals had previously obtain- 
ed title, tvhether that title was perfect or imperfect, complete or in- 
choate ; that grants, or concessions, from the former Governments, 
are to be construed in their broadest sense, so as to comprehend all 
lawful acts which transfer a right of property, whether perfect or im- 
perfect ; that an inchoate or imperfect right to land, is property, pro- 
tected by the treaties, capable of being alienated, and subject to debts, 
and to be held as sacred and inviolable as other property ; that the 

3 



18 

clauses of confirmation, in the treaty with Spain, operate presently 
and immediately on the ratification of the treaty, requiring no future 
or subsequent confirmation by Congress ; that these claims confer ti- 
tles to the person in possession of the lands, and that this possession 
does not mean actual occupation, but only that legal seisin which the 
owner or grantee of lands is presumed to have whenever there is not 
an actual adverse possession. 

The court has decided, also, that, according to the laws and usages 
of Spain, the Lieutenant Governors of provinces had authority to 
make grants or concessions of land, and have confirmed grants made 
by such Lieutenant Governors in many cases. The commissioners 
have also reported many grants for confirniation, made by Dclassus, 
as Lieutenant Governor,, and Congress has confirmed those grants. 

With respect to the non-performance of conditions, the point on 
which the commissioners rejected this claim, the Court have said that, 
in all the cases which have come before them,.they have seen no evi- 
dence of the resumption of a grant, by the Spanish authorities, or at- 
tempt to make a second grant of the same land, on account of failure 
in performance of conditions; nor does any law of Congress intimate 
any policy or purpose, on the part of the United States, as successor 
to the Spanish Govern njent, to enter for condition broken, on any 
lands, granted bona fide, by the Spanish authorities.^ But however 
this might be, when the conditions were practicable, and might have 
been performed, the Court has expressly decided that the grant is 
good, although the conditions be not complied with, if the conditions 
became impracticable or nugatory, by the act of the grantor, the 
transfer of the territory, the change of government, manners, habits, 
customs, lawss.religions, or political relations. These decisions would 
seem conclusive on the general validity of this grant. It may be sa- 
tisfactory, however, to quote a part of the judgment of the Court, in 
its own words, in the case of Delassus, the first of the Missouri cases 
in which judgment was delivered. 

The opinion was unanimous, so far as appears, and was delivered 
by Chief Justice Marshall. Having cited the articles of the treaty 
of 1803, to which I have already referred, the Chief Justice says : 
' They extend to all property until Louisiana shall become a mem- 
ber of the Union ; into which the inhabitants are to be incorporated 
as soon as possible, ' and admitted to all the rights, advantages, and 
immunities of citizens of the United States.' That the perfect invio- 
lability and security of property is among these rights, all will assert 
and maintain. 

" The right of property, then, is protected and secured by the trea- 
ty ; and no principle is better settled in this country, than that an in- 
choate title to lands is ppoperty. 



19 

" Independent of treaty stipulations, this right would be held sa- 
cred. The sovereign who acquires an inhabited territory, acquires 
full dominion over it ; but this dominion is never supposed to divest 
the vested rights of individuals to property. The language of the 
treaty ceding Louisiana excludes every idea of interferring with pri- 
vate property ; of transferring lands which had been severed from 
the royal domain. The people change their sovereign. Their right 
to property remains unaffected by this change." 

It may, perhaps, be suggested that the right of the grantee, or those 
claiming under him, is defeated, or divested, or barred, or in some 
other way injuriously affected, by the fifth and seventh sections of the 
act of Congress of 1824, before referred to, for adjusting land claims 
in Missouri. The fifth section of that act is in these words : 

** And be it farther enacted^ That any claims to lands, tene- 
ments, or hereditaments, vinthin the purview of this act. which 
shall not be brought by petition before the said courts, within two 
years from the passing of this act, or which, after being brought 
before said courts^ shall, on account of the neglect or delay of the 
claimant, not be prosecuted to a final decision within three years, 
shall be forever barred, toth at law and [in] equity; and no other 
action at common law, or proceeding in equity, shall ever thereaf- 
ter be sustained in any court whatever, in relation to said claims." 

The seventh section is in these words : 

" And he it further enacted. That in each and every case in 
which any claim, tried under the provisions of this act, shall be 
finally decided against the claimant ; and in each and every case 
in which any claim, cognizable under the terms of this act, shall 
be barred by virtue of any of the provisions contained th(irein, the 
land specified in such claim shall, forthwith, le held and taken as 
a part of the public lands of the United States, subject to the sam« 
disposition as any other public land in the same district." 

I cannot think that any thing contained in these sections can have 
the effect of divesting a vested right, or otherwise injuriously af- 
fecting it. These provisions may be valid, so far as they apply to 
the special and peculiar jurisdiction created by the act. Congress, 
by that act, consented that the United States should be sued ; and 
it possessed the power, doubtless, in granting this consent, to qua- 
lify or modify it, by any conditions which it saw fit to annex. Thus 
the right of trial by jury is not secured to parties who may elect 
to proceed before this tribunal. Yet no one will contend that Con- 
gress can take away the common right of jury trial from any citi- 
zen in cases affecting property. All the common tribunals, where 
trial exists, are still open to him. The truth would seem to be 
that, when this act was passed, an opinion prevailed that these 



20 

grants were of no value till confirmed by Congress, When these 
cases were first brought to the consideration of the Supreme Court, 
in 1830, they were argued at large, but held under advisement, 
until the Court should obtain such information as would enable it 
to distinguish between such cases as were founded on contract with 
ihe Government or its agents, and those which were still depen- 
dent on the pleasure of persons in power, and might be rejected, 
without violation of good faith. 

The act of 1824 evidently proceeds on the ground, as is quite 
apparent from the first section, that there was no fixed right until 
Congress should confirm the claim. It seems to have been sup- 
posed that those stipulations of the treaty with Spain, which re- 
spect the confirmation of grants, were promises only on the part of 
Government, that they acted only on the good faith of the Gov- 
ernment, and amounted fo no more than an undertaking that it 
would confirm such grants. But the Supreme Court has since de- 
cided, after repeated argument and much consideration, that this 
is not the true construction of the provisions of the treaty. It has 
adjudged that grants to individuals, made bona fide, and in the re- 
gular way, whether perfect or imperfect, complete or incomplete, 
ai'e property ; that the treaty, propria vigore, confirmed ihe grants, 
without the necessity of any further act or proceeding whatever on 
the part of Government ; that individual rights became thus com- 
pletely vested, and were thenceforward to be regarded as proper- 
ty, and held as sacred as any other property. And though the 
clause respecting the confirming of grants is not found in the trea- 
ty with France, yet, as has been seen already, the Court deems the 
provisions which that treaty does actually contain, to be entirely 
equivalent, and equally available for the protection of grants, whe- 
ther perfect or imperfect. Titles obtained under such grants are 
adjudged to constitute vested rights of property, entitled to all the 
immunities belonging to any other pioperty. 

If this be so, it is quite clear that property thus vested could not 
be divested by any effect which can be justly ascribed to the ope- 
ration of these sections in tbe act of May, 1824. 

This view of the case is strengthened by the consideration that 
Congress does not appear subsequently to have regarded these pro- 
visions as barring any right, legal or equitable. The law of 1833, 
making further provisions for claims of this character, makes no 
exceptions. It extends to all cases, and contains no intimation 
of any opinion on the part of Congress, that any of the claims 
were barred, or were to be excluded ; and when the commission- 
ers, acting under the law of 1832, allowed claims which, in respect 
to the law of 1824, stand on precisely the same ground as this, 



21 

and reported them for confirrnation, Congress confirmed them, 
without hesitation or qualification. And, in regard to the tract 
contained in this grant, the Government of the United States has 
not taken possession of it, nor sold it, nor surveyed it, nor exer- 
cised over it any act of ownership whatever. These facts are strong 
indications of the light in which Congress has viewed the provi- 
sions of the fifth and seventh sections of the act of May, 1824. 

I am of opinion, therefore, upon the whole, that the grant to 
Glamorgan is valid ; that the title claimed under it is fixed by the 
treaty, and is indefeasible ; that the decisions of the Supreme 
Court have estabished and sanctioned the grounds on which it 
rests ; and that there is nothing in any act of Congress which caa 
bar or preclude it- 

DAN'L. WEBSTER. 

February 14, 1837. 

I have examined and concur in the above opinion. 

T. EWING. 

I concur fully with Messrs. Webster and Ewing. 

S. L. SOUTHARD. 
New York, 14th Nov. 1837. 

Extract of a letter from Judge A. P. Upshur, dated 30th Sept. 
1837. 

"It seems to me that there cannot be a reasonable doubt of the 
goodness of the title, our own judicial decisions have establisJied 
every principle necessary to confirm it. I can only express my 
entire concurrence with Mr. Webster and Mr. Ewing. I would 
not hesitate to purchase the claim through any doubt of the title." 

Extract from the opinion of J. M. White in relation to a like 
grant in Louisiana, but which contained conditions for a settle- 
ment of colonists. No such conditions are contained in this 
grant. 

" There is no principle of the Spanish law more clearly estab- 
" lished, than that a grant on conditions, cannot be vacated with- 
" out a peculiar process called denuncia, by which the Fiscal or 
•' Attorney General of the crown, summoned the grantee before 
'• the Tribunal, to show cause why his grant should not be set 
*' aside, which is similar to the inquest of office for a like purpose 
" in England. The title once separated from the Royal Domain, 
" by an order of survey, cannot be reannexed without this mode 
" of adjudication. 



22 

" It is a well ascertained faot that no such proceedings took 
*' place before the transfer of the Province to the United States, 
" and in the treaty of cession, private property was reserved and 
" protected. 

" The question then arises, was this private property at the date 
" of the cession ? This questiou was settled in the case of Soulard, 
" 4tli Peters, in which it was decided, that property in its en- 
" larged isignification, as used in the treaty, meant all titles, in- 
" choate, as well as perfect and equitable, as well as legal. 

" It is not competent for the United States to exact the perforra- 
" ance of conditions which the peculiar policy of another govern- 
" ment may have prescribed, and which may have been rendered 
" both impolitic and impossible, under our institutions and laws. 
" The treaty operated upon the property of the inhabitants, as it 
" existed at the time, and as no foifeitares had been attempted, 
" in the mode pointed out by the Spanish Laws, before the change 
" of sovereignty, the title became absolute in the Baron and his 
*' assignees and heirs. 

" I am therefore of opinion 

" 1st, That the grantee and those claiming under him, have a 
•' valid title to the lands contained within the order of surveying 
" and concession, 

" 2d. That this was his individual property at the date of the 
" treaty, and was protected and exempted from the cession by 
" the treaty itself, J, M. WHITE." 

I have examined with attention the title papers of the Glamor- 
gan grant, as the same are set forth in a printed pamphlet submit- 
ted to me by William A. Bradley, Esq., and also a conveyance 
from Pierre Chouteau, of the residue of the tract embraced in the 
said papers, and am of opinion that a good and indefeasible title 
to the land covered by the grant, is vested in the present trustees, 
John Glenn and Charles M. Thruston, and that a confirmation of 
the grant by Congress, is not necessary to its legal validity. 

JOHN DUER. 

Nov. 20, 1837. 

Washington, Feb, 24, 1837. 
Dear Sir : In reply to your query respecting the quality of 
the soil in the tract of land granted to Don Glamorgan, and now 
owned by Mr. Chouteau, a iew words will suffice. Much of this 
land is not subject to overflow, but much is covered with swamps 
heavily timbered. The soil is of the richest kind, and if the 



23 

whole tract could be reclaimed from morass, and it will be, it 
would be worth millions of dollars; I say nothing of title. 

Yours truly, 

L. F. LINN. 

■* The Honorable A, G. Harrison concludes a long letter descrip- 
tive of the grant, in these words. " I will conclude by saying, 
♦' that the claim, if it should prove to be a good one, is one of the 
" most valuable that was ever made by the French or Spanish 
" authorities." 

Governor Kent, who is new Senator from Maryland, has made 
a settlement about fifty miles below this tract, and has just returned 
from a visit to it. 

Ron Mount, Jum 15, 1837. 

My Dear Sir: I duly received your late favor, making inquiry 
of me respecting the value of a tract of land claimed under a 
Spanish grant, and lying between the Mississippi and St. Francis 
rivers, about 30 miles below New Madrid^. 

Of this tract I have no personal knowledge, but have understood 
it was very valuable. All that region of country is alluvial, and 
of course highly fertile. It has been repeatedly spoken of to me, 
as the most valuable property in that section of Arkansas. 

The St. Francis at this time, is navigable for steamboats fer a 
considerable distance, which will be greatly extended when the 
rafts which interrupt it shall be removed, and which I have no 
doubt will be done by the General Government immediately. 
There are extensive settlements on the St. Francis already, and 
saw mills, «fec. erected, and the land low down on the river is held 
at 15 dollars per acre. I will write you again soon. 

Yours truly. 

JOS. KENT. 

Copy of the letter of Major Wctmorc, author of Gazette and 
Map of Missouri. 

In giving my opinion as to the value of the Glamorgan tract of 
530,000 arpens, I would class the land as one-fourth swamp, 
and only valuable until drained, for its timber, at 
One-fourth 

One-fourth at $2 50 per arpens, $284,875 

One-fourth at 5 00 569,750 

One-fourth at 7 50 854,625 



$1,709,250 
My opinion as to the value of these lands, is formed from per- 



24 

sonal observation, and from intelligence derived from authentic 
sources, for the purpose of completing the Gazetteer and Map of 
Missouri, which will issue from the press of the Harpers of this 
city, (New York) to-morrow. The above tract is all rich alluvial 
land, and fairly proportioned into timber and prairie. There can 
be no waste land on it, except such as is made so by the drifts and 
roots that choke the channel of the St. Francis. The products of 
this latitude, and of this soil are corn, wheat, hemp, tobacco, and 
the grasses. It is one of the best countries in the world for stock- 
raising. 

(Signed) ALPHONSO WETMORE. 

March 2f2, 1837. 

Extract of a letter from Edward Crass, Esq., Surveyo-r General, 
Arkansas. 

Surveyor's Office, Little Rock, June 19, 1837. 
" A portion of the claims (Glamorgan) only, is included within 
" the limits of Arkansas. Information predicated upon surveying 
" operations, enables me to say in relation to the quality of the 
" land, that it is in part equal to any on the Mississippi river be- 
*' yondthe cotton regioii." 

September 13, 1837. 
Sir : In answer to your inquiry, I state that I am acquainted 
"with the large grant of land now claimed by Pierre Chouteau,- ly- 
ing on the Mississippi river, and extending to the St. Francis river. 
It is first rate alluvial land; the land on the river is well timbered, 
and the wood for steamboats, worth three dollars per cord. That 
part back from the river is timbered prairie, and very rich : the 
land near the St. Francis, a part of which is wet, and occasionally 
overflows, but is covered with a growth of Cypress timber, and is 
worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars perar- 
pen«, for the timber. 

Respectfully, 

JOS. JONES. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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